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Our Journey Online - March 11, 2013

2013Mar 11

COMMENTS

Word #2 - Blessing

34As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!”35But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” 36Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” —Genesis 27:34-36

The second word that has a powerful effect in the family, even when we don’t use it directly, is blessing. You can see the heartbreak of a missed blessing contained in Esau’s words to his father Isaac in Genesis 27:34. It’s a great and bitter cry: “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” He repeats it in verse 38. You have to remember that Esau was not some sappy, effeminate, emotionally fragile man. In fact he would have fit nicely on the cover of Outdoorsman Magazine. Today we would call Esau a manly man. And yet something happened that crushed him. He missed his father’s blessing.

He was probably, by this time, a grown man with his own children. Yet Esau wept like a little baby because his father did not give the blessing to him. There is a lot that can be learned from Esau’s loss.

Deep within the heart of every person is a longing for parental approval; for a confidence that our mother and father know us, love us, value us, and are proud of us. They want the best for us and they recognize what we have accomplished. The preschooler who calls out from the sandbox, “Dad, look what I made,” the young child who fidgets and bows nervously as Mom reads the report card and sees the grades, the highschooler who appears in the kitchen dressed for the prom and says, “Daddy, how do I look?” and the adult who can’t wait for Mom and Dad to see the new house, or the new job, and to hear the words, “Well done,” They are all seeking the same thing. None of us outgrow the need for our parents’ blessing.

I have heard people say, “I don’t need the blessing. I didn’t get that from my parents and I’m fine.” And yet I’ve seen those same people transformed when they got their parents’ blessing. I’ve heard others say, “I wouldn’t take anything from my father.” But those same people rush across the country to plead for the blessing at their father’s deathbed. Something within the heart of every person—the way our Father in heaven has made us—longs for the blessing. I trust you sense this in your life today.
—James MacDonald

Journal

· How have I experienced the longing for the blessing in my life?

· In what ways have I satisfied that longing in my children’s lives?

Prayer – Father in heaven, thank You for those in my life who have blessed me. Thank You for parents who did their best even when they didn’t realize what a powerful force for good they were pouring into my life with their words and actions. Father, help me be a source of blessing to my children and others. Help me affirm, encourage, and speak about You to them, because these good seeds will bring a harvest of goodness in their lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

What if you believed—truly believed with all confidence that God is with you? How would today go for you if you knew without a doubt that God is in control? What would be different in your life if you were sure God is watching and good? What would you risk if you were certain God is victorious?

Just how would believing God’s promises change your life?

Ask the greatest Christian you’ll ever meet if they hold on to God’s promises and they’ll all say yes. Believing that God will do what He promises leads to a great life. The greatest Christian you’ll every meet knows, treasures, and is resting in the promises of God. They cling to these assurances that God gives His people so they can walk by faith while they wait for Him to work.

So what exactly does God promise? In this topical study of what will always be true, Pastor James MacDonald will explore five great and precious promises that God keeps. Enter into this study with anticipation and faith that the God who makes these promises is faithful and true... always true.